An important goal in playing sports is to win. Often that means proper play execution, proper form in the sports fundamentals and especially good ball control. Many of these tasks are performed by the hand, but are often also performed, to some degree, with parts of the arm (the wrists, forearm, elbow and bicep areas). Ball control and therefore proper play execution depend on adequately using the parts of the forearm, elbow and/or bicep areas to handle, strike, control or otherwise maintain possession. Inadequate play execution can result in inconsistencies and turnovers, both long standing problems in many sports, and can often determine the outcome of a game.
The Need for Grip Enhancers for the Arm Area
In the sport of football, for example, lack of play execution is often categorized by turnovers, fumbles and incomplete passes. This is of particular concern to those players that have to control the football such as running backs, receivers, tight ends, kick returners, punt returners and even quarterbacks. Athletes that play any of these positions are often asked, in some way, to run, catch, throw or otherwise control a football. A team's ability to successfully minimize fumbles, incompletes and inconsistencies, can often be the determining factor in the outcome of a game. Creating and maintaining a solid and stable overall control of the ball is therefore an essential component in proper play execution and performance. Often this means being able to grip as well as ‘feel’ a ball or object.
In the sport of football, as in many other sports, controlling a ball is often done not just by using their hands, but by using other parts of the body as well.
A football running back, for instance, might be particularly concerned with not fumbling the ball. A running back's performance is measured not only by his yards per carry but also in his ability to minimize his fumbles. Unfortunately, one need only view the statistics to see that fumbles persist as an insoluble problem, even at the professional level today.
Part of the problem lie in the seemingly inherently unstable and uneven way a player controls and cradles a ball when running. Proper ball handling technique is to grab one end of the football with your hand, and then resting the ball on the forearm of the same arm. As you begin to run with the ball, you may also place the opposite end of the ball (the end that is not being held by the hand) in the inside elbow area, between the forearm and bicep, and the ball is almost always touching the wrist area. Although prior art exists to increase grip around the hand, no art currently exists that will increase ones grip in the forearm area or the wrist.
Football players who catch a football (hereinafter called ‘receivers’) might be particularly concerned with making a catch and completing a reception, and being able to control a ball with the arm area. Enough skill and precision must take place in order to get the ball from the quarterback to a receiver; timing, stable footing, and protecting the ball just to name a few. When a receiver first catches a ball, he usually brings the ball into the arm, thus holding the ball with the hand, as well as the wrist and forearm area. Providing art that enhances the grip around the wrist or forearm area would certainly enhance the receiver's ability to complete the pass reception successfully, often an important aspect in determining who wins the game, since passing the football is a significant part of the sport of football, sometimes throwing as much as 103 times in a game (Seattle vs. San Diego, 2002). Thus, developing a solution to enhance one's ability of better controlling a catch and completing a pass reception would substantially impact the sport. Additionally, inconsistencies or incompletes often arise when a ‘stress factor’ is introduced once a receiver first touches and places the ball on their arm area. This problem is so pronounced that many instant replay situations revolve around seeing whether the ball moves even slightly in the receivers arm—including the forearm. As such, an unrecognized problem currently exists because it is very difficult to grip a ball with parts of the arm.
Clearly, maintaining good ball control is important. In football, unstable or weak ball control can, among other things, increase fumbles, increase incompletes and thereby increase turnovers and decrease performance.
There have been some attempts through the years to solve the problems of inconsistencies and turnovers in the sport of football. For example, changes have been made to the actual football in order to make the ball easier to handle. Changes to the shape and size, as well as the addition of grip enhancing materials to the ball—such as the addition of PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) dots—have made it possible to make the ball more grippable. The ability of the player to maintain control of the football was still problematic because of the lack of any grip enhancing device for the player to use; devices that could be placed on the arm such that the player could now more significantly control a ball with his arm, thereby creating a better overall grip of the football throughout the football. As a result of this unmet need, inconsistencies and turnovers were still high in the sport.
The introduction and subsequent proliferation in the use of football gloves found some success but even with these advancements, however, fumbles and incompletes still persist today. For one, whereas a running back who uses a grip enhancing glove will be better able to properly grip a football by using his hands, his hand, and therefore the grip enhancing device, only cover the front part of the ball, leaving the rest of the ball, and therefore the overall grip, still significantly unstable. One need only add a stress factor and this currently unstable hold on the ball can easily result in a fumble.
Good ball control is so important in football that inventions were created and widely used to enhance the gripping abilities of an individual's hand. Improvements have lacked in the areas of helping the rest of the arm better grip a ball.
No improvements have been developed that could provide enhanced gripping support around the wrist area, an area that almost always touches the ball when cradling the ball. Improvements have lacked in offering a player the ability to achieve an enhanced grip capability around the forearm area, thus providing a higher static coefficient of friction than that of the skin of the user, an area that plays a major role in maintaining control of a ball when a receiver is completing a reception. Advances have lacked in increasing one's grip around the wrist area, or in increasing ball control around the elbow or bicep areas.
Providing such a device would certainly allow a player to have a much stronger grip throughout and around the ball, to create a more stable overall handle on the ball, and therefore to significantly advance arm task performance and play execution. Not only would new art offer benefits to running backs, receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks, but they could also increase the performances of kick returners and punt returners, who have to run with the football.
In addition, no art currently exists that offers a grip enhancing device as a covering for one's sports arm pads. For example, if a running back has a forearm pad for protection but also wants to add a grip enhancer to it, he currently cannot purchase a grip enhancer cover that he could temporarily place over his existing arm pad. Grip enhancing covers would be well received in this sport and would offer significant and substantial benefits.
Because no such art exists, it is no surprise that there were a total of 731 fumbles, and the highest quarterback completion rating was less than 70 percent, in the 2010 NFL Season (Official Stat Book of the NFL, 2011). Given the fact that fumbles persist at the professional level and therefore certainly at the collegiate and amateur levels, one can see that past attempts to solve these problems have had limited success.
An example of another sport in need of grip enhancers for the forearm and wrist area is Volleyball. Here too, ball control is crucial to play performance. Play execution often depends on one's ability to control a ball with multiple parts of your arm, but especially your forearm. Although there are forearm, elbow and even bicep devices that could be used for protection, or simply for aesthetic purposes, no prior art exists that would enhance ball control in said areas for volleyball.
When an opponent strikes a volleyball to the other team's side of the net, the first player to normally touch the ball—when the ball isn't blocked at the net—generally controls the ball with her or his forearms. With that first touch contact, one must be able to stabilize the ball, and then usually pass the ball to a teammate.
Unfortunately, this current method of passing a volleyball can provide inconsistent results. First, the initial contact control is generally with the forearm skin of the player, and without any grip enhancing device, it can become very difficult to redirect a volleyball with consistent precision either because of the generally low grip capabilities that the human skin provides or because the player's forearm has perspiration or moisture. Although the initial contact happens very fast, a control enhancing mechanism for the arm area would have a significant impact on the sport. Additionally, a more general reason for inconsistencies is in one's inability to grip with one's forearm due to its generally low coefficient of friction. Without providing the forearm with some way to better grip a volleyball, inconsistencies in the sport of volleyball will continue to be a long-standing problem.
Additionally, any type of grip enhancers for the wrist area would provide similar benefits as mentioned above.
The Need for Sport Grip Enhancers for the Fingers
Not only are there significant needs for grip enhancing devices and grip enhancing covers for the arm area—in particular the wrist, forearm elbow and bicep areas—but there is also a significant need for better grip enhancing devices for the hands as well. Although offering some advantages, using prior art creates disadvantages that often forces an individual to choose not to use any grip enhancing device at all.
One particular area where prior art poses significant disadvantages is in any sport where a player's success depends on her ability to both grip as well as feel a ball or object. These players often have to choose between wearing a glove thereby enhancing grip but losing significant feel, or going without a glove thereby maintaining maximum feel but missing the opportunity to enhance one's grip.
In football for example, gloves can be used to enhance performance. The use of gloves in football is so widespread that nearly every football player uses them, with the notable exception of football quarterbacks. You rarely see a quarterback wear gloves, even if just to keep warm. Most quarterbacks choose to play football without gloves. This is largely because prior art consists of generic full-fingered gloves which are uncomfortable and burdensome on a quarterback's dominant (throwing) hand, particularly on those fingers a quarterback places over the football laces. In addition, the full-fingered gloves prevent a quarterback to have much ‘feel’ of the ball.
Playing the position of quarterback without the help of gloves, however, can also be an inferior choice. The website Wikihow.com, provides a good description of the conventional way to hold and throw a football. “Throwing the football is simple. Put your non-throwing side foot in front of you. Have your Pinkie, Ring and Middle fingers around the laces with your Index [Forefinger] finger on the strap. Put the other hand up on the ball. Put the ball up by your ear. Twist your hips toward the front foot. Throw the ball at the receiver.” Whereas, the fingers over the laces have a solid grip on the ball—primarily due to the football laces on the ball—the two fingers off the laces (forefinger and thumb) are virtually unsupported and therefore have a relatively weaker grip, creating a weak overall grip on the football.
This weak overall grip becomes more pronounced when added stress is placed on the thumb or forefinger. When a quarterback, intending to pass the football, for example, suddenly has to scramble, or if the quarterback ‘pumps’ the ball (goes through all the motions and speed of throwing the ball but doesn't actually release the ball), the grip strength of the thumb and forefinger can determine whether or not a quarterback fumbles the ball. Also, if one performs a simple test and wets his/her dominant hand, and then grabs and pumps a football, the forefinger and thumb will often move or slip. On a wet football field, during extreme weather conditions (hot or cold), that weaker or looser grip makes for a much more difficult completed pass, less success at throwing a spiral, and inconsistency and inaccuracy in passing.
Under the ‘tips’ section of Wikihow.com, it further describes proper football throwing form: “A proper throw will feel like it's only utilizing the Thumb, Index [Forefinger], and Middle finger. Good release will ‘roll’ off of your Index and Middle finger, to impart more spin; you may snap your wrist through as you follow through to the hip. The other three fingers on your hand stabilize the ball as its being flung. They should not be used to impart spin on the ball. The most important finger to throwing a spiral is the Index finger; it is the finger that holds the most leverage in putting spin on the ball.”
This need to ‘feel’ a ball with a hand has therefore resulted in quarterbacks having a difficult choice. Although clearly these players would benefit from added grip enhancements on the throwing hand, prior art (in the form of gloves) force a quarterback to choose between all feel and no feel. Virtually all quarterbacks have chosen to maintain feel and sacrifice the ability to better grip the football, and therefore not wear gloves. It is no surprise that quarterback fumbles remain a significant problem in football, even at the highest performance levels and currently remains an insoluble problem in the sport for amateurs and professionals alike.
Individuals who play basketball also have to both ‘feel’ and grip a ball to perform properly, and although they too could significantly enhance performance in controlling a ball; prior art forces them to choose all feel as well, and go without any type of grip enhancers. This insoluble problem therefore also exists in playing the sport of basketball, and these players would substantially benefit from developing a way to maintain feel while increasing grip capabilities in select areas of the hand. More specifically, new art is needed that could offer grip enhancers in certain locations of the hand while leaving others areas of the hand uncovered and therefore better able to maintain necessary feel.
In the field of Golf, to be sure, there exists much prior art in the form of golf gloves for a golfer's weak (non-dominant) hand. In fact most active golf players wear a gloves on their weak hand, and go without a glove for their strong hand (if one were to go to any major store to buy golf gloves, they would be sold and packaged in singles—one glove—not sold in pairs). Gloves are prevalent in golf largely because of the role that hand grip and control play in a golfer's overall performance.
Although there exist many types of full-fingered gloves for a golfer's weak-hand, they all attempt to maximize a golfer's weak-hand grip without regard to a golfer's weak-hand feel, and hand coordination needs. It is no surprise, therefore, that prior art consists of full-fingered (all fingers are covered), closed palm (entire palm is essentially all covered) gloves. As a result, a typical golfer must rely on her weak-hand to provide most of the grip support, and on her strong-hand to provide all of the ‘feel’ in her golf swing. The current solution to this insoluble problem has been for virtually all golfers to use one and only one glove. This glove is always placed on the weak hand, leaving the strong hand without a glove. There is, therefore, an opportunity to invent a device or method that could offer some ‘feel’ ability for the weak-hand, without significantly diminishing that enhanced grip ability that gloves offer. This would increase overall hand control of a golfer's club swing, and therefore, result in greater success in competition.
Whereas weak-hand support products seem to be crowded in the sport of Golf, there is a long existing need for a device that could offer added support for a golfer's strong-hand without significantly diminishing one's ability to adequately feel the golf club. Inventing a solution to this problem could, among other things, allow for greater overall golf swing control and consistency, and create an entirely new market because golfers currently do not use grip enhancers on their dominant hand, thereby changing the way that golf is played.
In Golf magazine's April 2005 article titled “Fix your grip. The wrong grip can cripple your swing—Here's the cure,” golf instructor Charlie King provides an overview of how to grip a golf club. “Good golf starts with your grip. The proper hold on the club helps you do three crucial things: Hinge your wrists, control the clubface at impact and support the club throughout the swing. Here are three simple grip tips.” As King continues, his third tip is “both hands; solid at the top. An effective grip sets the face square at the top, with the shaft parallel to the target line. You should feel most of the club's weight in your left thumb and right forefinger. Now you're ready to turn it loose.” Although prior art seems to be crowded in offering a glove for the weak-hand, to support and better control the club weight placed on the thumb of the weak-hand, there remains an unmet need for added support on or around the forefinger of the strong-hand. Additionally, constant swinging of a golf club at real swing speeds often results in soreness on and between the thumb and forefinger of a golfer's strong hand (wearing no glove). This soreness can often also come from the rubbing or slipping, between the club handle and the strong-hand, suggesting a need to find a way to increase the grip—as well as protection—of a golfer's strong hand. This is especially important in the sport of golf because even the smallest of slipping—during the golf swing or upon impact of the golf ball—can create enormous inconsistencies and inaccuracies, critical issues in determining overall performance.
Consequently, there are clear indications that an entirely new market exists for targeted grip enhancers that could be placed only on select areas of the strong hand—such as only on a couple of fingers—leaving other parts of the strong hand free to feel. In particular there remains an unrecognized problem and an unmet need for new art that can provide multiple benefits, such as increase overall grip, improve coordination with both hands, as well as possibly provide some protection from any constant grip slipping, during the practice or play of golf, and in various other sports activities.
In the sport of Basketball, there exists no prior art when it comes to grip enhancers to enhance the performance of over 100 million individuals who play the sport. Although there are several multisport gloves in the market today, virtually no one uses gloves when playing basketball. A primary reason why basketball players choose not to use gloves, as mentioned briefly above, is just like with football quarterbacks, basketball players often need to be able to both grip and feel the ball. Although many hand tasks require a good grip, no art currently exists that would adequately provide these players with enhanced grip capabilities, or enhanced protection, without having to sacrifice the critical ability of being able to properly feel the basketball as well.
One clear hand task in basketball is in shooting the basketball with the intention of making a score or basket. Conventional jump-shot shooting form requires, among other things, that the player hold the basketball largely with the fingertips of both hands, and creating a small opening—or a shooter's gap—between the ball and the palm area of the player's strong-hand. No prior art exists that would increase the gripping abilities of a players fingertips and leave the rest of the hand uncovered and thus free to feel if the basketball is touching the palm area (indications that would mean that the player is improperly shooting the basketball).
Prior art is lacking that would provide an athlete with the ability to have enhanced control when dribbling a basketball. Proper dribbling form is to rarely, if ever, look at the ball while dribbling said ball—thus one of the critical reasons why one needs to be able to maintain high ‘feel’ ability. Without any extra grip enhancers however, it can become difficult to maintain stable control of the basketball.
A typical game—even a professional game—often can have as many as 30 turnovers (combined), so offering art that could increase ball control while dribbling, passing or even catching a basketball could significantly enhance performance by, among other things, minimizing turnovers. For example, minimizing turnovers by offering a finger cot adapted for basketball play would dramatically enhance a player's performance in the sport. Those players playing the position of Guard may benefit from added grip support especially because they may need to dribble, at least briefly, with their strong hand as well as with their weak hand. Whereas many players would benefit from control enhancers for their strong (dominant) hand, most guards would certainly benefit from control enhancers for their weak hand.
Although athletes playing the position of Forward or Center would also benefit by enhanced dribbling abilities, most of the turnovers caused by Forwards and Centers are often the result of dropping passes thrown to them, or from making a bad pass. Offering art that would enhance the ability to better pass or catch a basketball could therefore also enhance overall performance for anyone playing the sport of basketball.
Other general hand task challenges that are in need of a better solution have to do with basketball players who injure, in some way, their hand. In this situation the player has to tape her hand, especially when injuring a finger. The result again is a decrease in ball control and limited protection. To protect the injury, most players will choose to tape the finger and try to adjust. Loss of dribbling control can often result, as will loss of ball control when preparing to shoot the ball (and it slips out of the players hand and flies aimlessly in to the air).
There are several non-sport hand tasks that would benefit from new art, including:                Massage therapists who may want limited protection on a select number of fingers but would seem as very inappropriate if they chose to wear a tubular member.        Elderly who use walkers and want only a modest increase in control        Activities such as basic yard work that don't require much hand protection        